Angolan troops, whose presence in Guinea-Bissau angered local soldiers and prompted a coup in April, ended their pullout from the west African country Saturday, a military official said.

"The withdrawal operation ends today with the arrival in Angola of the last group of our soldiers from Guinea-Bissau," the official said.

It "marks the end of the military cooperation agreements between Angola and Guinea-Bissau," he added.

Men, tanks, heavy weaponry and other equipment for the 600-strong force began leaving Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday aboard aircraft and ships.

The troops had arrived in March 2011 as part of a bilateral military agreement.

However in a country where decades of conflict between army and state have led to coups, assassinations and chronic instability, they were seen as a personal protection force for the government, prompting the April 12 coup.

The Angolans are being replaced by an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission known as ECOMIB.

In addition, Luanda would not replace ambassador Feliciano Antonio Dos Santos who left in April, an Angolan diplomat said on Wednesday.

Carbon traders eye Mozambican stovesMaputo (AFP) June 9, 2012
Beaming with pride as she stirs a steaming pot of spinach and nuts, Maria Douca is one of the first in Mozambique's capital to own an ethanol-fired stove, burning fuel made from locally grown cassava.
Betting that thousands of other city-dwellers will also switch from their charcoal stoves, a multi-national consortium plans to generate carbon credits to sell to greenhouse gas emitters on the ... read more

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency.
All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement